UNC junior outfielder Skye Bolt has all the tools to be a top draft pick, making use ofย his time on UNC’s campus to leaveย Major League scouts in awe.ย This edition of our Countdown to First Pitch preview takes a look inside the mind of the Tar Heelsโ most spectacular everyday player.
Anytime the Tar Heel baseball team has needed a strike of lightning over the past two seasons, Skye Bolt has usually delivered.ย A starter since his freshman year, Skye has proven himself to be one of the more dangerous bats in the Carolina lineup, hitting for both power and average.
With 10 home runs in his career though, Skye says that hitting the long ball definitely brings out a special kind of feeling.
Skye rounding first, listening to the crowd. (UNC Athletics)
โIโve never been a power guy, per se, that has lived and died on the long ball, so if Iโm bustinโ butt down to first base, and I pick my head up and the first thing I hear is a clap or something like that, itโs kind of a โrelaxโ type of moment. Thereโs nothing like seeing the ball go over the wall.โ
Drafted out of high school in the 26th round by the Washington Nationals, Bolt opted to go the college route instead.ย Heading into 2015, Skye has improved his game greatly, seen by many pro scouts as a potential first rounder after the season.
Capable of playing all three outfield positions, Bolt is an extremely versatile player. However, injuries limited his production last season, after a breakout freshman year in 2013, where he hit .321 with six homers and 51 RBI during UNCโs run to the College World Series in Omaha.
His main focus this year is on the Tar Heels, but he does have long-term sights set on a pro career. ย With this in mind, he says heโd like to see the NCAA transition to the use of wood bats, to better prepare young hitters for the big leagues.
Skye Bolt can do it all, at the plate, and in the outfield. (UNC Athletics)
โThereโs an expense side of it thatโs kind of keeping the NCAA off of the idea. For showmanship, and for a fan base, the metal bats provide more home runs, obviously. But swinging a wood bat is something that separates the guys that can really swing it, and the guys that canโt.โ
One of the most legendary wooden bat swingers of all time was Babe Ruth.ย Ruth was famous for not only his hitting ability, but also his diet of hot dogs and beer.
Skye Boltโs eating habits can easily be considered borderline โRuthian.โ
โI cram down anything. I know itโs gonna catch up with me later in life,โ Bolt says, โI do concentrate on protein and calories. Proteinโs great. And I think a staple of all of our athletesโ, and especially us baseball playersโ (diets), is protein bars, something with some grain and some nuts in it.โ
For many top athletes, competition runs in their blood.ย That seems to hold true for Skye as he loves playing sports and competing in anything, on or off the diamond.
Every sport except for one that is.
โNot a basketball fan, never liked basketball, never was very good at it. I didnโt understand the concept of dribbling,โ Skye says, โI like playing around with the guys, football, throwing it around.โ
The Georgia boy also has a passion for the outdoors, saying that he is an avid hunter.
โWhenever I get free time, when itโs not 20 degrees out, and weโre out of season, I love to hunt, love to hunt and fish. Thatโs something I do back home in Georgia whenever I get the opportunity to,โ Bolt says, โIn the past two years, me and some teammates have looked into some local land, and tried to get out there as much as possible.โ
Bolt’s bat will be a big key to UNC’s success this season. (WRAL)
There is plenty of optimism in the air around Boshamer Stadium these days, with seemingly anyone you talk to around the clubhouse singing the praises of this teamโs โchemistry.โ
Everybody ย seems to be friendly with one another, something Bolt says definitely has an impact on the field.
He credits those relationships with helping in situations such as middle infielders knowing where one another is going to be on a double play, a pitcher and catcher with a great feel for each othersโ tendencies, or outfielders knowing who will make a play on a fly ball.
Chemistry, along with the team’s talent, has given Skye plenty of reasons to harborย high expectations for this season.
โI think weโre just as talented, if not more talented than we were in โ13. Weโre definitely and certainly younger, but we will make a run. We will make a run. If we get to Omaha, thatโs all that we care about,โ Bolt says.
โThe rest will take care of itself.โ
